Sheet metal binders, or holders, have been known for many years for binding catalogs, magazines and directories and other types of soft cover books to specially designed protective covers that are not provided by the original publisher. Such covers and binders are frequently utilized for public or office telephone directories, magazines on airplanes and waiting rooms, and a myriad of other applications.
These metal binders include an elongated base strip with upturned ends, one of which serves as the pivotal connection for a blade-like binder, the other of which releasably holds the free end of the binder in position. The base as well as the blade are sheet metal stampings and require separate stamping operations and an assembly step to connect the blade to the upstanding end portions of the base strip. The assembly of the binder is further complicated by the pivotal connection. For large quantity production, a significant cost savings would be provided if the manufacturing or assembly steps were reduced. An additional deficiency is that the metal binders tend to be awkward and heavy, due to the complexity of the design.
Many of these binding methods are slow and expensive and are often not adaptable to simple office equipment.